Very Frustrated

Have you had your thyroid and testosterone levels checked?
By your 50's you will naturally have a slowed metabolism but there are health factors that could slow you down too and your doctor can do blood tests to make sure you aren't working against a health issue that you don't know about.
When you eat as many calories as you burn your weight stays the same. If you had 500 uneaten calories at the end of everyday, in theory you would lose a pound per week. So are you eating every calorie you are allotted per day or leaving at least 500 uneaten?

Good grief (not to you, OP, but some of the responses).

1. MFP sets you up with a deficit when you sign up, if you told it you want to lose X amount of weight. So, your 1800 ALREADY INCLUDES A DEFICIT to lose weight. Do not eat below that 1800.

2. Buy a scale, weigh your food, log it all. If you are not doing this, you are probably eating more than you think and are not in a deficit.

3. Log in your exercise. Do not use the machine's calorie burn, use MFP's, or get an HRM (cardio only, not lifting) - those are still estimates, but I wouldn't use the machine's.

4. Eat anywhere from 50-75% of those exercise calories BACK (though some people can eat 100% and still be fine). This maintains the, hopefully, healthy deficit you asked MFP for when you started. (This does NOT mean you are eating to maintain your weight, you are still eating at a deficit. Ignore people who do not understand MFP's setup and claim eating exercise calories means you are eating to maintain.)

5. In the alternative, use the sexypants link that someone provided, and use that as your calorie goal instead. In that method you do not eat your exercise calories back because they are already accounted for.

6. You do not need to exercise as much as you are. If you want to because you enjoy it, great. But, you don't need to. Exercise for health, for body comp, for fun, if you want to eat more. But you don't HAVE to exercise as much as you are if you are logging accurately and eating at a deficit.

Be consistent for at least around 4-6 weeks. If no change, then it's time to look at something else that might be happening.

You need to do some research online and educate yourself. You aren't giving your body what it wants and needs and until you do educate yourself, you're not going to get very far.

You already have some good advise here but I just want to add one thing .
Make sure you are drinking enough water .
I feel like my weight loss stalled because I was not drinking enough water - maybe I'm wrong but at least this advise couldn't hurt :bigsmile:

And good luck !

Are you weighing your food?

If not, you could be eating more than you think.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

This goes along the lines of if you're not losing weight you're not in a deficit. Weighing your food and logging it as accurately as possible ensure that you are in fact in a deficit. If you're in a deficit, you will lose weight, barring any medical issues.

Also read this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

There's alot of good information to be had in both links. Read them thoroughly and put what's written into practice.

I should also clarify that I didn't exactly do a "cleanse" to start this thing, it was five days worth of the lemonade/cayenne fast, where I dropped ten pounds pronto. I may try going back to something like 600 calories/day a couple days a week and see if that brings any results...like maybe a couple of hardboiled eggs, some V8 juice and a salad or a can of tuna or something, that should all add up to 600

I've had a little experience with the weight loss issue.

Read the blog post linked below. There are some very useful links in it to help.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/the-resolution-that-stuck-my-two-year-mfpiversary-607930

44 here, started at 230. Last summer I biked a lot, I quickly found that it really did not increase my heart rate enough. I could bike for miles and miles... I just did not really get my rate up enough to burn calories. The bike was doing too much of the work.

When I started to get serious in December I got on the treadmill. Sure enough the pounds melted away with a deficit and walking / running. I stayed at 1500 calories burning 3K ish a week n the treadmill with weights a few times a week.

Given my middle aged experience I suggest trying something that's going to really raise your heart rate.

It is expected that you will hear lots of differing ideas. Everyone is different. I would say, start with what has worked for you in the past. Then compare that to what you do when you do not stay in shape. I sent the link to the guy who decided to fast twice a week. You can already do 6 days, but maybe 6 days will get old ? You have a positive attitude and no doubt you will make it since this means you will keep trying.
1. try what works for you, even if others think it is not the way to go. (study why they think it is bad)
2. try what works for others with similar body types, age and fitness to you.
3. tweak your short term success model for long term. If fasting is the only way that works, fast enough to loose enough, since obviously at some point it will be better to eat than fast.
4.try what seems to work for everyone, more vegetable, no refined foods etc..

Good luck and keep us posted

Fasting is not necessary so stop claiming that it is some magical tool.

OP, you have said you have been checked by the doctor and have no medical conditions so ignore the advice involving that.
As much as you want to say you are logging accurately, weighing all foods and measuring all liquids, you have to double and triple check your logging for errors. Errors are lot made deliberately that's why the are errors. Sometimes we just don't see them.

And don't drop down to 600 calories, that just makes no sense.

Where in my post did you see the word magic? Did you even bother to read what this man's original post said worked for him? Did you even watch the video that you criticize? You may have valid points, listening to others is a good skill. That being said are you anything like the poster? Are you sure your method will work for him? he is already discouraged from trying the low cal method. Are you sure he should continue if it has not worked ?